He'S 13!

Okay, so where do the years go????

Here's N8 at birth.

At 1


At 4

6

At 7

Then 8

At 9

(Chels made him the cake.)

Now 10

11, at last

12

(That's his birthday cat, Otis. He's kind of grown since then.)

Now 13 and a teenager!

His cousins were here--that was FUN!

'Think he got a cell phone????

No way!

(Mom gave him her old camera.)

He did get the Star Wars Prequil and Trilogy.

His Uncle Curtis would be proud.

(Half.com works!)

Happy bday, N8.

We sure do love you!

In other breaking news...

N8 finishes bench and earns Carpentry Merit Badge.

(Thanks to Dad. What a gr8 YM's leader!)

N8 receives his 8th. Grade Honor Society Achievement Award.

Chels receives her Young Republican Award.

('Like her cheesy look? She makes light of it. She didn't do much, but

if having a strong opinion against Obama qualifies her,

she definitely earned it.)

Last, but not least....

off to Tahoe!

'Sure love that place!

WaSsUp?

Well....

N8 did the Junior Golf thing,

and had a great time.

We noticed a poster on a local store window,

looked closer,

and saw...

Craig!

It's from last year's 5k "Bark in the Park" fundraiser run.

(He hates that shirt--the techs tie dyed it for their team.)

Chels disected a crayfish in Science.

She named him "Giant Larry".

(It's all right with me as long as we don't have to eat him!)

While replacing a wire, N8's orthodontist knocked a bracket loose,

and Craig had a 3-day weekend, so

we took off from school a little early, and went to Reno to have it fixed, then...

went by Scheele's and visited the aquariums.

N8 braved the bears, and Chels made friends with the moose.

Together, they checked out the latest in pet equipment.

While Dad checked out the guns,

Chels and N8 tried the shooting galery, and

then, they found the weapons of war.

We went by Best Buy...


where the bug tried the 3D t.v.

(Okay, so it's not as great as Toast Dog's new living room fixture.)

Lastly,

we ventured up to Tahoe to plant flowers and get the sprinklers and drip lines going,

but, alas...

it snowed--4 inches.

Oh wow!

(No pictures here--just close your eyes and envision a forever freezy winter that smells of lovely pine.)

We hurried back on Saturday to see Der, Marie, and Carter--hurray!

'Had a family bbq--

'ate absolutely everything bad for us--chili dogs smothered with onions, salsa, cheese--the works!

'Topped it off with banana splits--hey the banana's healthy, right?

It was GREAT fun!

Thanks for visiting Der and Marie!

(We love you so much!)

MoThEr, I lOvE yOu (aNd A tRiP tO tHe SaCrAmEnTo TeMpLe)

Mother, I love you.

Mother, I do.

Father in Heaven has sent me to you!

When I am near you,

I love to hear you

Singing so softly that you love me too.

Mother,

I love you;

I love you,

I do!

Happy Mother's Day, F.D. Momma!

(You are the VERY best!)

P.S. We made a trip to the Sacramento Temple this weekend to see the wedding of a nephew.

WhAt FuN!